January 19, 2012

Windsor-Essex Parkway on track: Ontario Ministry of Transportation

WINDSOR, Ont.

Construction of the Windsor-Essex Parkway is on track, says the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

During 2011, Parkway construction work included: salvaging a total of 250 tons of reusable materials from buildings slated for demolition within the Parkway right-of-way; protecting species at risk, including transplanting hundreds of Willowleaf Asters to restoration sites; and breaking ground on the new Trillium Court affordable housing project, which will help 56 families relocate to brand new homes.

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The Windsor-Essex Parkway is an 11-kilometre addition to Highway 401, connecting to the Windsor-Detroit border, Canada’s busiest border crossing. The parkway’s design consists of a six-lane below-grade freeway and a four-lane service road network which is an extension of Highway 3 to eliminate stop-and-go traffic.

The project has more than 300 acres of green space, 20 km of recreational trails, and new community connections. Major construction began in late summer 2011 and the parkway is expected to open to traffic in fall 2014.

This project is expected to support and create an estimated 12,000 project-related jobs in Ontario, with the majority in the Windsor-Essex region. Preparations for border improvements supported over 2,000 jobs in 2011, with 96 per cent of Windsor-Essex Parkway sub-contracts awarded to local companies.

Current Parkway construction work includes: diverting traffic to ensure four lanes are open at all times along the Highway 3/Huron Church Road corridor; building the Howard Avenue Diversion, a permanent Parkway feature that will include a roundabout to accommodate large trucks and facilitate the smooth movement of traffic through this area; and rebuilding the recently demolished North Talbot Road Bridge to allow for the widening of Highway 401 between Provincial Road and Highway 3.

“These improvements are contributing to Windsor’s economic success in the region, the province, Canada and the world. Strong economies and strong communities go hand in hand. We are providing real solutions for this important international gateway,” said Teresa Piruzza, MPP for Windsor-West in a news release.

As part of the Let’s Get Windsor-Essex Moving strategy, detailed designs were developed for improvements to the Canadian Plaza of the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel; the environmental study and preliminary design work for improvements to Lauzon Parkway got underway; and the Howard Avenue CPR grade separation was completed to ease congestion and improve travel times.

In 2011, the Windsor-Essex Mobility Group and PIC recorded over 320,000 work hours without critical injuries or lost work days. Each year, more than 12 million cars, trucks and buses and nearly $120 billion worth of goods flow between Canada and the U.S. through the Windsor-Detroit corridor.

DCN NEWS SERVICES

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